More jet noise monitors to be added in neighborhoods surrounding O’Hare

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More jet noise monitors to be added in neighborhoods surrounding O’Hare

The city of Chicago has agreed to install eight new noise monitors in the communities around O’Hare Airport.

The Chicago Department of Aviation will work with the O’Hare Noise Compatibility Commission to acquire and install the additional permanent airport noise monitors.

Residents directly to the east and west of the airport say the jet noise in their neighborhoods has risen dramatically since last fall. That is when the takeoff and landing patterns at O’Hare switched from a north-south axis to an east-west one.

On Tuesday, Mayor Rahm Emanuel issued a press release stating:

“As the O’Hare Modernization Program moves forward, some of our residents in Chicago and the surrounding communities are affected by changes in flight patterns, and we need to better understand the impact on them. These additional monitors will help us gather and process the data we need to do that.”

The Chicago Department of Aviation [CDA] currently has 33 permanent noise monitors surrounding O’Hare to capture noise from aircraft arrivals and departures, which is one of the largest monitor totals among airports worldwide.

According to the mayor’s press release, “Airport noise monitors are used throughout the country to report aircraft noise levels as a matter of public interest and to monitor trends in aircraft noise.

“By adding monitors around O’Hare, the CDA will have even more information to share with the citizens living near those flight paths,” said CDA Commissioner Rosemarie S. Andolino.